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University of Illinois Athletics

VB - Collins + Cooney Block
Andy Wenstrand / Illinois Athletics
3
Winner Minnesota MINN 11-2, 5-0 B1G
1
Illinois ILL 8-6, 3-2 B1G
Winner
Minnesota MINN
11-2, 5-0 B1G
3
Final
1
Illinois ILL
8-6, 3-2 B1G
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Minnesota MINN 25 29 12 25 (3)
Illinois ILL 18 27 25 23 (1)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

No. 17 Illini Suffer Midweek Setback to No. 6 Gophers

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 17 Illinois volleyball team had its three-match Big Ten Conference win streak snapped on Wednesday (October 9) night as No. 6 Minnesota defeated the Illini in four sets (18-25, 27-29, 25-12, 23-25) in Huff Hall.

For the second-straight match junior Megan Cooney equaled her career-high with a match-high 19 kills on the night, while senior Jacqueline Quade turned in 18 kills and classmate Ashlyn Fleming added 12 kills on a .360 hitting percentage for the Illini (8-6, 3-2 B1G).

Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown earned her third-straight double-double after handing out 51 assists and notching 14 digs against the Gophers (11-2, 5-0 B1G).

Defensively, junior Morgan O'Brien had a season-high and match-high 23 digs, with sophomore Taylor Kuper joining her and Brown in double digits with 13 digs. Freshman Kennedy Collins led the Illini block attack with six stuffs in the match, while Quade and sophomore Mica Allison each added three on the night.

Quade and Kuper paced the Illini from the baseline with three service aces each.

After a slow start gave the Gophers an early advantage following a 25-18 opening set win, the Illini battled in a second set that saw 11 ties and seven lead changes. With Minnesota poised to take the second at set point at 24-17, the Illini rattled off eight-straight points to earn their own set point at 25-24. The two teams traded points until back-to-back UM blocks gave the Gophers a 29-27 set win and a 2-0 edge in the match.

The Illini were dominant in the third, using a .519 hitting percentage to sail to a 25-12 win. From there it was a back-and-forth fourth period with the Gophers building a 17-12 lead midway through the set, before the Illini fought back to within one on three occasions. After a Cooney kill tied things at 23-23, a Gopher kill combined with a block sent to visitors to victory.

The Illini next face off against Indiana on Dynamic Duo Night for the second time in eight days on Saturday (October 12) at 7 p.m. CT in Huff Hall.

For more Fighting Illini volleyball news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniVBall on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.

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